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Waipara Springs celebrates 36 years of wine, food, family and community. Thirty-six years and three generations is a legacy worth celebrating. Waipara Springs marked the milestone on October 16 with an intimate gathering at its historic winery restaurant. In typical Waipara Springs style, the evening was beautifully executed, without a hint of pretence. Among the guests were loyal customers, current and former staff, family, neighbours and friends. Everyone had played some pa

GateShare founder Em Nesbit with her children, Anthony, 7, and Layla, 6, at their Kekerengu lifestyle property. For two months, Em Nesbit watched thousands of vehicles pass her roadside stall on State Highway 1 near Kekerengu. Only one stopped. The sale was a meagre two seedlings, for $6. A few weeks later, she packed up the same produce and drove an hour to a growers’ market, where she sold out before lunch. “That was when I could see it wasn’t a problem with the produce,” N

Swannanoa woman and volunteer firefighter Sarah Starkey was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer three months after a mammogram found no evidence of cancer. When Sarah Starkey received the all-clear following a mammogram last September, she believed breast cancer had effectively been ruled out. It hadn't. Three months later, Starkey, 48, a Swannanoa mother and volunteer firefighter, was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer. By then, she had a l

A breast cancer diagnosis is something most women would rather not think about. But Community Breast Nurse Educator Debra Leutenegger says breast awareness is not about being frightened. It is about knowing your own body well enough to recognise when something changes. “Knowing your normal” is a phrase women hear often, but Leutenegger says it means becoming genuinely familiar with how your breasts normally look and feel. “What’s normal for me won’t necessarily be normal for

New Zealand avocado growers are heading into what could be a record season, with almost eight million trays expected to reach domestic and export markets in 2026-27. The crop is forecast to be worth around $160 million at wholesale level, with close to five million trays destined for export and almost three million expected to be consumed at home. But NZ Avocado chief executive Brad Siebert says producing more fruit is only part of the equation. The challenge is making sure g

Recently, someone with many years in media gave me a piece of advice. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it. “Be careful not to have too many women in one issue.” Really? Because in all my years doing this job, nobody has ever warned me about having too many men. Well. Hold my gin. Because this issue is full of women. And unapologetically so. October 15 is International Day of Rural Women, and 2026 is also the International Year of the Woman Farmer, so it seemed like the perf

A Lighter Touch programme director Livia Esterhazy says pesticide resistance is a growing global threat with implications for crop production and food security. Pesticide resistance is often compared with antibiotic resistance in humans. The more heavily a product is relied upon, the greater the chance the pest, weed or disease it is designed to control will adapt and become harder to kill. For New Zealand growers, that is no longer a distant or theoretical risk. A Lighter To

From left, BetterMan founders Ryan Astle, Todd Astle and Ged Robinson, who are taking a more informal approach to men’s wellbeing through sport, humour, connection and conversation. Former Black Cap Todd Astle is using lessons from professional sport to help Kiwi men talk about wellbeing, but without making it feel like a mental health seminar. Astle is one of the founders of BetterMan, a Christchurch-based wellbeing charity set up with his brother Ryan Astle and former profe

Guests have the chance to get close to the animals and learn how livestock are cared for on a New Zealand farm. For Fiona McQuade, Geraldine Farm Tours began with a simple observation. Tourists were driving past the top of the road, Beauly Farm had a shearing shed and established farm infrastructure sitting underused, and there was a chance to create something new without losing the heart of the place. “I just thought, why would we not do that?” McQuade says. Today, Geraldine

Rose Hinton, left, with Jenny and Wayne Chisnall. The Hursley Terrace and Newcombes Road residents are among those opposing Plan Change 7. Claire Inkson Hurunui District Council says Rosewood Terrace is about giving Amberley Beach residents somewhere to go if natural hazards eventually make relocation necessary. But with around 230 sections proposed, roughly half intended for sale on the open market, opposition from neighbouring rural residents and the beach residents’ associ

Western Southland dairy farmer Kaylene Bennett’s Kellogg research explores the hidden mental load carried by rural women and the impact it can have on their wellbeing, careers and communities. Western Southland dairy farmer Kaylene Bennett has turned her own experience of reaching capacity into Kellogg research examining the mental load carried by rural women and the impact it is having on their wellbeing, careers and communities. For Kaylene Bennett, the realisation that she

Georgie Woods was named the 2026 Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand Rural Ambassador after being nominated by the Northern A&P Association. For Georgie Woods, being named the 2026 Royal Agricultural Society Rural Ambassador was more than a personal achievement. It was recognition of the role young people can play in ensuring New Zealand’s A&P movement has a future. Nominated by the Northern A&P Association, Woods progressed through the competition before taking out the

Record crowds attended the 2026 Wānaka A&P Show, with more than 44,000 people through the gates and an estimated $19.3 million generated in additional regional spending. Supplied After attracting the biggest crowd in its history, the Wānaka A&P Show is heading into its 90th anniversary with a new title partner and a clear message: bigger is not necessarily better. More than 44,000 people attended the two-day Show in March, around 10 percent more than organisers had anticipate

Halter’s new calving detection feature uses collar behaviour data to alert farmers when a cow is calving, helping them prioritise checks and respond sooner. Supplied A new calving detection tool is giving farmers an early heads-up when cows are calving, using behaviour data already being collected through Halter’s virtual fencing collars. The feature analyses changes in cow behaviour and sends an alert directly to a farmer’s Halter app when signs of calving are detected, help

Growing up on a farm, the dangers that came with working in our sector were ingrained in us from a young age. We all had near misses, even as children. It was almost a rite of passage. On quad bikes, driving the farm ute, working in the yards and discovering very quickly what happens when you get on the wrong side of a sheep. Most of the time, they were just that. Near misses. Sadly, some weren’t. We lost young members of our community in farm accidents in relatively quick su

A new Mid Canterbury summit aims to cut through conflicting health advice and help women better understand what is happening in their bodies. Lauren Stokes hopes the Women’s Hormone Summit will help rural women better understand their health and feel less alone. Women struggling with heavy periods, sleepless nights, hot flushes or unexplained fatigue are too often left confused and unsure where to turn, says Mid Canterbury naturopath Lauren Stokes. It is a pattern Stokes sees

Island wisdom, delivered without fuss: a weathered sign offers a reminder that poor quality is remembered long after a bargain is forgotten. A rain-soaked family escape to Rarotonga delivered spectacular snorkelling, slow days and a reminder of what it takes to live and grow food on a remote Pacific island. The first thing I noticed when we stepped from the plane in Rarotonga was the air. Warm, sweet and impossibly soft, it felt like a balm after the chilly, damp days Christc

Waipara Winehouse has undergone extensive refurbishment since Stuart and Judith Clumpas took ownership in 2023. When Scottish music promoter Stuart Clumpas first visited Waipara Winehouse three years ago, he immediately saw an opportunity. The vineyards. The wide North Canterbury skies. The proximity to Christchurch, while still feeling unmistakably rural. “I looked at it and thought: this could really work,” he says. Now, just a few years later, Stuart Clumpas with wife and

From left, Emily Horne, Natasha Moore, photographer Liv Gorman, Jess Letham and Lauren Pearce, part of the team behind A Lauriston Harvest. A new cookbook from Lauriston School is serving up much more than tried-and-true recipes, capturing the people, memories and community spirit of a small Mid Canterbury school along the way. There is a particular kind of culinary nostalgia attached to recipes handed down through families. They are the cakes made for every family birthday

Kelly Shakespeare is photographing the ordinary. Old sheds. Quiet streets. Faded shopfronts. Brick homes with overgrown gardens. Hand-painted signs. Rusted roofs. The kind of places most people drive past without a second thought. But in a rapidly growing town like Lincoln, those ordinary places are disappearing fast. And Shakespeare knows it. “I’ll photograph something and six months later it’s gone and replaced by new houses,” she says. “That’s become a big driver for me. I